12/04/2017 06:57 AM EDT
By Lauren Dezenski (ldezenski@politico.com; @LaurenDezenski) with Rebecca Morin (rmorin@politico.com; @RebeccaMorin_)
GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Welcome to Monday.
THE INVESTIGATION BEGINS TODAY - Senators will huddle in private conference today to discuss next steps for how to address the sexual harassment accusations against state Senate President Stan Rosenberg's husband Bryon Hefner. This afternoon, they'll formally start the process of appointing an independent investigator.
In perhaps an indication of how things could go, state Sen. Barbara L'Italien has already called for Rosenberg to step down from the presidency. L'Italien is the first sitting senator to call for Rosenberg to step aside, saying on Sunday that she and others "are very, very concerned about the institution" - and that the allegations and subsequent investigation will detract from the significant legislative issues on the docket as it enters 2018.
The Andover Democrat is also running for Congress, and theoretically has less to lose than other state senators who may fear long-term retribution for calling on Rosenberg's removal too soon.
Behind the scenes, votes have quietly been whipped since news broke on Thursday by other upwardly mobile senators eyeing an opportunity to ascend to the presidency.
Rosenberg, in an emotional press conference on Friday, said he will retain his position as Senate President but recuse himself from the ongoing investigation (state Sen. Majority Leader Harriette Chandler will act as Senate President in all matters related to the investigation), and that Hefner will enter treatment for alcohol dependence. Rosenberg continued to deny being aware of the allegations.
And ICYMI from Sunday, another individual came forward saying Hefner, unsolicited, sent a photo of male genitalia to someone who works in Massachusetts state politics earlier this year. This is the fifth person to come forward saying Hefner made unwanted sexual advances.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: ldezenski@politico.com.
TODAY - The Senate meets in formal session at 1 p.m. where it's expected to take up a yet-to-be-filed order that will officially kick off an investigation into the allegations of sexual misconduct against state Senate President Stan Rosenberg's husband Bryon Hefner - Democrat running for governor Setti Warren holds a town hall about the opioid epidemic in Brockton - Former Vice President Joe Biden comes to Boston's Wilbur Theatre to promote his book Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose.
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DATELINE BEACON HILL -
WHAT BEACON HILL IS READING - "Smelling blood in water, lawmakers jockey for Senate president role," by Hillary Chabot and Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald: "Sens. Linda Dorcena Forry (D-Boston), Eileen Donoghue (D-Lowell) and Sal N. DiDomenico (D-Everett) each scrambled over the weekend to line up votes they would need to take the presidency, after Sen. Barbara L'Italien (D-Andover) said she'll ask Rosenberg to step down at today's caucus."
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- "Senate President Stan Rosenberg's husband Bryon Hefner sent unsolicited photo of nude male genitalia to state political player," by Gintautas Dumcius, Masslive.com: "Massachusetts Senate President Stan Rosenberg's husband Bryon Hefner earlier this year sent a text message with a picture of male genitalia to someone who works in Massachusetts state politics. The unsolicited picture from Hefner was of a random person's penis and the message was apparently meant for someone else in politics, according to the person who received it, who spoke with MassLive and shared a screenshot of the exchange. In responding to Hefner, the person indicated they weren't interested in receiving it."
- "Back Bay protesters voice opposition to Senate tax bill," by Jeremy C. Fox, Boston Globe: "Protesters took to Back Bay streets Saturday morning to voice their opposition to a sweeping $1.5 trillion federal tax overhaul passed by a 51 to 49 vote in the US Senate overnight. About 30 people rallied on Boylston Street to chant; sing Christmas carols with revised, tax-themed lyrics; and march against the Republican-backed bill, which slashes the top corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent but provides only temporary cuts for individual taxpayers."
- "Kevin Burke, former Essex DA and state secretary of public safety, to head Massachusetts State Police investigation," by Dave Canton, Masslive.com: "An independent investigator has been appointed to look into the arrest of a district court judge's daughter and the subsequent Massachusetts State Police reporting on that arrest, the Associated Press reported. State Police Superintendent Col. Kerry Gilpin tapped Kevin M. Burke to lead the investigation into the arrest of Alli Bibaud, the daughter of Dudley District Court Judge Timothy Bibaud."
- "Medical board drops opposition to physician-assisted suicide," by Cynthia McCormick, Cape Cod Times: "After hours of discussion, the governing board of the Massachusetts Medical Society dropped its official stance against physician-assisted suicide during a meeting Saturday. 'It feels amazing we've been able to get this far,' said Dr. Roger Kligler, of Falmouth, a retired internist with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer, who champions the cause of medical aid in dying."
TRUMPACHUSETTS -
- "Donald Trump backer allegedly attacked after disruption at Harvard Coop," by Jordan Graham, Boston Herald: "Cambridge cops are investigating after a President Trump supporter said he was savagely attacked after intentionally disrupting a book event featuring a prominent pro-antifa author near the Harvard campus. The man, whose name was not released by police, told authorities he and some of his friends went to a book event Friday night hosted by the Harvard Coop - the bookstore affiliated with the school - featuring an address from Dartmouth lecturer Mark Bray, who has gained notoriety for suggesting there are times when it's ethically acceptable to use violence against Nazi sympathizers and white supremacists."
- "Niki Tsongas: GOP's tax reform hits hard on 3rd District," by Niki Tsongas, Lowell Sun: "If the Republican plan to overhaul our nation's tax code becomes law, it will impact every American and shape our country, and the Third District, for years to come -and not in a good way. Earlier this month, the House of Representatives passed its tax reform bill, H.R. 1, and the Senate is currently finalizing its own tax reform legislation."
THE WARREN REPORT -
- "Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey slam Senate Republicans for passing tax bill 'in the dead of night,'" by Shannon Young, Masslive.com: "Massachusetts Democrats condemned Senate Republicans Saturday for approving a nearly $1.5 trillion tax overhaul bill "in the dead of night" -- a vote which they argued came before lawmakers had enough time to read through the newly revised bill. U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, as well as members of the state's U.S. House delegation, raised concerns about the process through which the legislation cleared the upper chamber, as well as the potential impacts it could have on the American economy."
- "Trump Wants to Dismantle Elizabeth Warren's Agency. Good Luck With That." by Michael Grunwald, POLITICO Magazine:"But with much less fanfare, the bureau has done quite a lot since President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats created it in response to the financial crisis of 2008. It has cracked down on predatory lenders, sleazy brokers, bullying debt collectors and Wall Street scammers, forcing financial firms to return $12 billion to 30 million ripped-off consumers. It has helped transform the mortgage market, the credit card industry, and other money-moving businesses that used to enjoy lax or nonexistent government oversight. Its database of consumer complaints-online and publicly searchable-has helped more than a million disgruntled financial customers get corporate responses, while serving as a kind of government-run Yelp for money matters."
MOULTON MATTERS -
- "Moulton: Tax bill's passage shows Washington's broken," by Ethan Forman, Salem News: "Congressman Seth Moulton woke up Saturday disillusioned by the U.S. Senate's early morning passage of the Republican tax plan, he told several hundred people who attended a town hall at Salem State University that afternoon. 'And it wasn't just because the tax bill was passed that I disagreed with,' Moulton said. 'It's because our whole system of government seems to be falling apart. We have to pass bills in the middle of the night without even reading (them).'"
ON THE STUMP -
- "Gubernatorial candidate, Setti Warren, holds town hall in Springfield," by Sy Becker, WWLP: "Candidate for Governor, Setti Warren, held a town meeting in Springfield Sunday. The subject, what to do about the Opioid crisis."
- "Democratic candidate for governor Setti Warren calls for independent investigation into trooper-gate," by Shira Schoenberg, Masslive.com: "Democratic gubernatorial candidate Setti Warren is asking Gov. Charlie Baker to appoint an independent investigator to look into the alteration of the arrest report of a judge's daughter. Massachusetts State Police Col. Richard McKeon resigned after two state troopers claimed in a lawsuit that they had been ordered to change the arrest report of Alli Bibaud, the daughter of Worcester County Judge Timothy Bibaud."
THE TSONGAS ARENA -
- "Contest for Congress in Massachusetts 3rd District," by NECN: "Dan Koh, candidate for Massachusetts congress speaks with Sue O'Connell about Michael Flynn, the proposed tax plan, and the 3rd district congressional race."
- "Peter Lucas: Kerrigan sees himself on familiar ground in congressional race," by Peter Lucas, Lowell Sun: "Of all the Democrats running for Congress in the 3rd Congressional District - and there are many - only one has run in the district before, even carrying the key city of Lowell. That candidate is Steve Kerrigan, 46, of Lancaster, who in 2014 was the Democrat Party nominee for lieutenant governor on a ticket that was headed by former Attorney General Martha Coakley."
WOOD WAR - Herald: "SHARKS CIRCLE STAN," "GRONK FEELS THE HEAT" - Globe: "Trial looms for prison guards in '09 fatality," "CVS agrees to buy Aetna for $69 billion," "Brushed aside," "Senator sees case building for obstruction," "In Mass., some top industries pan GOP tax plan."
THE LOCAL ANGLE -
LIFE AFTER THE LEGISLATURE - "Dempsey settling into private role after influential Statehouse run," by Peter Francis, Eagle-Tribune: "A hellish commute to Boston, followed by meetings, conference calls, and copious amounts of coffee. In many ways, Brian Dempsey's everyday life is the same as it has been for the last 26 years. The only difference is that he now commands a staff of strategists and PR professionals, as opposed to a multibillion dollar state budget."
- "Harvard agrees to turn over records amid discrimination inquiry," by Anemona Hartocollis, Boston Globe: "Harvard University has agreed to turn over years of confidential applicant and student records to the US Justice Department, which has opened an aggressive investigation into whether the university has systematically discriminated against Asian-American applicants, officials said Friday. It was the first time that Harvard had agreed to surrender records."
- "Region seen as having sufficient winter power supplies," by Associated Press: "New England's power grid operator doesn't foresee any major problems supplying the region with sufficient electricity this coming winter. ISO-New England says there should be enough resources to meet consumer demand, but there are scenarios that could pose challenges."
- "Low- and middle-class families key to state's electric vehicle goals," by Diane McLaughlin, South Coast Today: "Since 1990, Massachusetts' greenhouse gas emissions have decreased in each major sector except one: transportation, the sector producing the most emissions. To help reduce these emissions, Massachusetts has set a goal to have 300,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2025. But the high upfront costs of these vehicles make them beyond the reach of many families and communities."
- "The final blow for Cape Wind," by Cape Cod Times: "The proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm is no longer. After more than 16 years, tens of millions of dollars spent and seemingly endless, at times deafening, debate, the announcement Friday that Cape Wind is officially dead came quietly by email."
- "Hand: Attleboro City Hall transition is going well," by Jim Hand, Sun Chronicle: "The transition from the Dumas administration to the Heroux era at Attleboro City Hall is going well with none of the personality problems some were expecting. State Rep. Paul Heroux, the mayor elect, has met with Mayor Kevin Dumas and some of his department heads twice last week."
- "Aid sought for Puerto Rican families evacuated to Lawrence," by Jill Harmacinski, Eagle-Tribune: "A local nonprofit agency is helping some 30 families, which include 80 children, that emergency evacuated to the city after Hurricane Maria ripped through the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico early this fall. More than 70 days ago Hurricane Maria tore through Puerto Rico, an American territory, causing widespread power outages, clean water shortages, damage and death."
- "Former BSO conductor James Levine is cited in sexual abuse allegation," by Jacob Carozza, Boston Globe: "The Metropolitan Opera in New York announced Saturday that it will investigate allegations that famed conductor James Levine, who also led the Boston Symphony Orchestra, molested an Illinois teenager decades ago. 'We are deeply disturbed by the news articles that are being published online today about James Levine,' the opera said on Twitter. 'We are working on an investigation w[ith] outside resources to determine whether charges of sexual misconduct in the 1980s are true, so that we can take appropriate action.'"
- "The Last Resort? Canyon Ranch Succumbs to Botox," by Katherine Rosman, New York Times: "Nearly 40 years after it first opened, Canyon Ranch is having some serious work done. It has been sold by its founders, Mel and Enid Zuckerman, to a real-estate investment company owned by a Texas billionaire, John Goff, and is no longer being run by the team overseen by Mr. Zuckerman, long a familiar presence on the original Canyon Ranch property in Tucson. The new C.E.O. is Susan Docherty, 55, the first female corporate officer at General Motors, who worked there on the Hummer and Cadillac Escalade brands. Hiring executives with experience from luxury hotel chains like Ritz-Carlton, she is now turning a family business into a well-oiled hospitality machine."
MAZEL! - to former State Rep. Kathi Reinstein, named director of policy and legislative affairs for Treasurer Deb Goldberg.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Springfield Rep. Angelo Puppolo, The Dorchester Reporter's Maureen Forry, and Marina McCarthy.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! - The Patriots topped the Bills 23-3.
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